Plea deal a good resolution in White case

If ever there was a case that cried first-degree murder, it is that of John Douglas White, the confessed killer of a vibrant young mother who adored her son and looked forward to her new management job at Goodwill Industries in Mt. Pleasant.

White cut 24-year-old Rebekah Jane Gay’s life short by bludgeoning and strangling her in her Isabella County home, with her son in bed nearby.

From the beginning, White confessed to everything, including going back to Rebekah’s home after dumping her body, and dressing her son in his Halloween costume, then taking him to the boy’s father.

White was a neighbor and friend.

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Or so it seemed.

There is an abundance of evidence pointing to White, who has killed before, as the man who murdered Rebekah.

Even without his confession, forensic evidence led to him being the prime and only suspect, and he was arrested and charged within hours of the crime being discovered.

Had White not entered a guilty plea Thursday in Isabella County Trial Court to second-degree murder, he most likely would have been convicted of first-degree murder.

There was ample evidence to convict White.

Some might say it is a travesty that White was allowed to enter a lesser plea, but justice will be served.

White will spend the rest of his life in prison, with Chief Judge Paul Chamberlain having to sentence him to at least 45 years in prison for Rebekah’s murder.

That’s the minimum number of years.

There’s nothing stopping the judge from imposing a harsher sentence.

But the bottom line is, White, 55, will never again be a free man.

He won’t have the benefit of protective custody, a deal he tried to reach even before he was officially charged with the crime.

Rebekah’s family will not have to endure the agony of a trial, which would likely have included horrifying details that nobody should have to hear about a loved one.

Prosecutor Risa Scully got the blessing from Rebekah’s family before entering into the plea agreement.

Not only does the plea agreement mean White will never again be able to harm another person, it negates the need for a trial, which would have been costly in both monetary and emotional terms.

Yes, the evidence suggests very strongly, without a doubt even, that the murder was premeditated.

That would have resulted in a term of life without parole had White been convicted of first-degree murder.

But if the same end can be attained by different means, justice is still served.